6/10/2023 0 Comments Turn off the lights teddy![]() It was inspired by Kunta Kinte, the central character of Alex Haley’s Roots. ![]() (“Cola Bottle” is best known today as the basis of Daft Punk’s hit “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”) Though those steamy tracks as well as “Freaky Deaky Sities” centered on love and sex, the bold disco of “Kunta Dance” had a bit more gravitas. His scorching style was epitomized by the connected opening tracks, “Cola Bottle Baby” and “Phiss-Phizz,” blending Parliament-style funk with scorching rock guitar and dancefloor-ready riffs. The singer-keyboardist was joined by a band consisting of Kenee Wilson (drums/vocals), Chuck Anthony (guitars/vocals), Ronald Drayton (guitar/vocals) and Tony Bey (bass/vocals) on eight original lyrically sparse, groove-packed songs. ![]() Instead, Edwin Birdsong (recorded in New York City) was delivered to Gamble and Huff as a near-complete release, making it one of the most atypical entries in the rich PIR catalogue.Ī mélange of funk, disco, soul, rock, and jazz, Edwin Birdsong was composed, produced, and arranged by the artist, a frequent collaborator of jazz great Roy Ayers. It didn’t feature the famed MFSB rhythm section or The Sound of Philadelphia’s trademark smooth orchestration, and wasn’t even recorded in Philly. 14) b/w “Do Me.”Įdwin Birdsong’s self-titled album, released on Philadelphia International three months before Teddy in March 1979, could hardly have been more different than that LP. 48) b/w “If You Know What I Know,” and “Come Go with Me” (R&B No. BBR’s reissue adds all four of the album’s associated single versions: “Turn Off the Lights” (R&B No. 1 and his third of four consecutive platinum sellers. Melding Pendergrass’ gritty, persuasive voice with a strong crop of songs and productions, Teddy became the artist’s second R&B No. Gamble, Huff and Usry also provided the closing song, “Life is a Circle.” On Life is a Song, Usry had arranged “Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose,” and he clearly took that advice for this percolating closer. Gamble and Huff wrote and produced another uptempo song, the blunt entreaty to “Do Me.” With taut guitar licks, slinky bass and a wending saxophone all contributing mightily to John Usry’s killer chart, Teddy makes no secret of his romantic intentions on this pulsating track. McFadden and Whitehead delivered one of the most danceable cuts on Teddy, “If You Know Like I Know.” Pendergrass practically snarls his swaggering lead, holding his own with the brassy production. Leroy Bell and Casey James also wrote the dramatic “Set Me Free,” decorated with a truly epic, rhythmically driving arrangement from Thom in the tradition of “Life is a Song Worth Singing.” ![]() A surprisingly relaxed outing, it features one of Pendergrass’ most comfortable leads, no less fervent in its yearning but much more understated in its approach. “I’ll Never See Heaven Again” was written by Thom’s protégés, nephew Leroy Bell and Casey James, and arranged by his younger brother Anthony Bell. Producer Thom Bell, fresh off his remarkable streak of successes with The Spinners, contributed two tracks. “All I Need is You,” co-written and produced by Sherman Marshall and arranged by Dexter Wansel, finds the singer in a similarly emotive, seductive vein, with Wansel’s shimmering chart providing the luster. Pendergrass’ passionate, rough-hewn vocals contrasted with the plush settings, exuding pure lust and ardor. Both “Come Go with Me” (not the Del-Vikings oldie) and “Turn Off the Lights” were penned and produced by Gamble and Huff and arranged by longtime MFSB flautist Jack Faith in lavish orchestral splendor. Teddy opened with two of the lush, sultry bedroom odes for which the former lead singer of Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes was becoming known. All of these disparate talents crafted a stylistically consistent record of both bedroom ballads and funky dancers that still stands tall among the peaks of Philadelphia soul. Overseen by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the 1979 album followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, the previous year’s R&B chart-topper Life Is a Song Worth Singing, in featuring notable contributions from Thom Bell and Dexter Wansel as well as from the duo of Gene McFadden and Jerry Whitehead. Cherry Red’s Big Break Records imprint has turned back the clock to 1979 for a pair of titles from the legendary roster of Philadelphia International Records.īBR has continued its journey through the catalogue of the late Teddy Pendergrass with an expanded reissue of his third PIR solo platter, simply entitled Teddy.
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